DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

Cuz this is what Kirkland Pontiac showed me when I arrived tonight to pick up my GTO...



The car has been having problems with the tires rubbing on the struts, but it looks like it should all be fixed now... but not before I had to buy 4 new tires for it... ouch. The tire above was through to the cords, and two of the others were bad enough it didn't make sense to just replace two of them.

Very happy with Kirkland Pontiac, though... they came through again for me. Been trying to get this issue addressed before my warranty expires, and they finally found the problem.

TwoFast4Lv

iTrader: (8)

Glad they took care of you man! I told you they would

GEARHED

iTrader: (5)

They have been back on track for awhile now, good to know you got it taken care of cuz those tires look scary

Z ANGEL

Wow, glad you didn't have a blowout!

WAHUSKER

iTrader: (4)

Damn, that's scary Zeke! Are you running the stock wheels & tires?

DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, I was.. 245/47-17 BFG KDWS... strut rub seems to be a fairly common problem with '04s and early '05s, my theory is that it's because they switched from the 235 series tires they used in Australia on the Holdens to a 245 series tire. There really is not much clearance in there.

I replaced them with 245/45-17 Continental ContiExtremeContact tires... same as stock size. They seem to be a little better tire, they're much quieter on the road, too.

TurboCoupe

Nice that the dealer got it fixed. John's 05 hasn't had any rub problems (yet).

You're going to hate the Conti's though. They wear FAST and howl like a screaming 5 year old in corners.

DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

I didn't have that problem going home last night.. and as far as I can see they have the same wear rating as the KDWS did. Personally I don't think it matters much, because I'm probably going to put 18" wheel on the car when this set wears out. I just like that they are rated much better for snow driving than the KDWS were.

Crisisman

iTrader: (1)

Zeke, just to be on the safe side be sure you check the inside edge of your front tires at every oil change. Better yet, get a new set of wheels with a better offset and you won't have to worry about it any more.

Did Kirkland tell you exactly what they "fixed" to make the problem go away? Some shops just dial out your camber and call it good. Others will replace your struts and mounts and then do an alignment.

BTW, my 18" wheels are begging for someone to powder coat them and take them home.

DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

Well, for me that would be too many miles... Right now my oil change interval is about 10,000 miles or 6 months which ever comes first. My car is driven almost entirely on the highway at 60-70 mph constantly and rarely sits in traffic... I run Mobil 1 5w/30, and I think it's pretty safe to extend that interval.

I'm just gonna have to check them about once a month.

They replaced the mounts, not the struts... they had originally planned to do that but said that they only need to change them if they are leaking. They did a new alignment after that.

18" factory wheels? Why do they need to be powder coated?

I woulda been interested a few days ago probably, but after shelling out a few Benjamins for a new set of tires, I'm pretty tapped at the moment.

Crisisman

iTrader: (1)

Not factory. They're Privat Fahren. 18x8 in front and 18x9 in back +40 offsets. They need powder coating because I got a little over frisky with them at the track(they saw a half dozen lapping days and held up great, except for the scratches from the gravel at turn 3b).

So, powder coating is the most cost effective way of making them look like new again. They could be repainted instead, but that'd cost more.